New Car Review: 2013 Toyota RAV4

They grow up so fast.

The Toyota RAV4 was among the first wave of small SUVs, then called "cute utes", more than a decade ago.  It was set apart from the rest  (which came to include the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Chevy Equinox, Nissan Rogue, Mazda CX-5, Subaru Forester, Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage) by it's somewhat stubby profile, rounded edges and the spare tire mounted on the tailgate.

The others have matured, grown and moved on in terms of materials and technology.  In 2013, it's the RAV4's turn.

New Car Review: 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid

The 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid whispers its green credentials rather than shouting them.

 

The de-gimmickification (give me until this afternoon to make a Wikipedia entry) of hybrid vehicles has been a tricky thing. As we noted in our review of the Toyota Prius C, the vast majority of hybrid buyers seem to want to call attention to themselves. The "big" (compared to the Prius C) Prius has attained a good chunk of its best-seller status by being instantly identifiable as a "green" vehicle. Honda, a strong candidate for major player with the environmentally sensitive, has struck out with its hybrid offerings thus far, the Impact and CR-Z being too small to be practical and mainstream and the Accord and Civic hybrids having been virtually invisible...looking for all the world like regular Accords and Civics with "hybrid" badges on them...never mind what was under the hood and what wasn't coming out of the tailpipe.

 

So it's a huge surprise to this writer that Volkswagen, out to conquer market share in leaps and bounds, has taken the Honda Civic approach with the Jetta Hybrid.

 

New Car Review: 2012 Buick Verano

The 2012 Buick Verano.

I sense a slippery slope ahead when I'm at the wheel of the Buick Verano. And it has nothing to do with the pavement under the tires.

Call it generational perspective. I'm old enough to remember when Buick wanted a compact car so badly that it took a 1973 Chevy Nova, made it a bit prettier (in the eyes of some beholders, anyway), a bit cushier, a bit more upscale, and sold it as the 1973 Buick Apollo.